Airbnb’s latest funding haul has surpassed all expectations. The company was said last summer be seeking up to $850 million in a round that would value it at $30 billion. In September, a filing showed Airbnb had raised $555 million.
According to a new filing on March 9, Airbnb ultimately received more than $1 billion in its Series F financing, for a valuation of $31 billion. That solidifies its position as the world’s fourth-most valuable startup and puts it on the heels of Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing, which is valued at close to $34 billion.
The $31 billion valuation also makes Airbnb second only to Marriott International on paper among traditional hospitality competitors.
The update on Airbnb’s Series F coincided with another report: The company, per a Reuters source, has “no plans to go public anytime soon.”
That’s despite the fact Airbnb is an attractive candidate to go public. It became profitable for the first time in 2016. It’s projecting earnings (before interest, taxes, and depreciation) of a whopping $3.5 billion by 2020. By contrast, Uber lost about $3 billion last year by a similar measure.
So why stay…